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MS looks beyond Windows

By Damian Clarkson, ITWeb junior journalist
Johannesburg, 04 Aug 2004

MS looks beyond Windows

Software giant Microsoft has begun looking beyond Windows for technologies that will fuel the future growth of the company, BBC reports.

Company founder Bill Gates said new technologies were necessary, because markets for current Microsoft products were already saturated. Gates showed various financial analysts early versions of programs, designed to compete with its main competitor Google.

The company unveiled a prototype of an MSN toolbar that works with the Internet Explorer browser.

MS says it will allow consumers to go beyond simple Net surfing, it also lets them query the documents, images, e-mails or spreadsheets stored on their PC. The add-on is pitched at the efforts of Google and Lycos, standalone search software from firms such as Enfish and newcomers such as Blinkx.

The toolbar is due to be released within 12 months.

Linux pre-installed on HP notebook

Hewlett-Packard announced yesterday that it will ship its Compaq nx5000 notebook pre-installed with Linux - the first major PC-maker to do so.

According to AP, the notebook will feature Novell`s SuSE Linux and support a CD burner, DVD and media player, wireless connectivity and the OpenOffice software suite. It will retail at around $1 140 (R7 000) - about $60 less than the basic model featuring Microsoft`s Windows XP.

HP VP for Linux Martin Fink says the company has brought together the drivers required for the notebook to manage power, control printers and other devices. "All of those parts of this notebook have been turned on, work completely and are fully supported."

Spammers hijack PCs

Spammers are seeking out and hijacking home PCs to act as remotely controlled relays that pass on unsolicited messages.

According to BBC, it is possible that your home computer may have been hijacked if you have a broadband Net link, but are not using a firewall or anti-virus software.

Technology firm Sandvine estimates that 1% of all the active hosts on the Net could be compromised, while "85% of e-mail leaving broadband residential networks is likely to be spam", says Sandvine founder Tom Donnelly.

Previous viruses such as MSBlaster, Agobot, MyDoom and Sobig were all written with the aim of converting a home PC to a spamming portal.

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